Expansible shelf addition

ABSTRACT

A horizontally adjustable shelf structure formed of two telescoping sheet metal members, each having a plurality of linear, equally close spaced perforations, two wire-formed supporting end legs adapted to be attached through the perforations, and a center supporting leg formed with tangs that extend through registered perforations of both members thereby locking the members together and also serving as a load bearing support.

1111M States Patent 1191 Qruckshank [45 s w, 25, 1973 1 1 EXPANSIBLE SHELF ADDITION 2,740,679 4/1956 Vizzini 108/156 21 1 4 [761 Inventor: Ira cwckshank, 1905 3'323313? 511323 325121??? 21 ml x wllhamsburg Dr., Hoffman, 11- 1,609,355 12/1926 Holle 108/61 22 F1 A 2,983,389 5/1961 Trautmann 108/102 1 led pr 1971 2,730,419 1/1956 Watrous 108/156 [21] Appl. No.: 135,082 2,828,175 3/1958 Barkules 108/156 Primary ExaminerFrancis K. Zugel [52] U.S. Cl. 108/64, 108/102 511 1111. c1 A4711 1/110 Snyder [58] Field of Search 108/93, 102, 64,

108/157, 156, 61; 248/188; 211/184, 175, [57] ABSTRACT 148, 181; 182/223; 5/202, 181, 184, 185 A horizontally adjustable shelf structure formed of two telescoping sheet metal members, each having a plural- [56] Referencesclmd ity of linear, equally close spaced perforations, two

UNITED STATES PATENTS wire-formed supporting end legs adapted to be at- 1,836,126 12/1931 Luce 182/223 x tached through the perforations, and a Center pp 2,064,056 12/1936 C00kson.. 211/148 X ing leg formed with tangs that extend through regis- 3,030,162 4/1962 Brooks 211/181 tered perforations of both members thereby locking the 6,246 12/1954 Putnam members together and also serving as a load bearing 2,441,721 5/1948 Schroeder.... 108/102 x Support 2,935,210 5/1960 Cohen 108/64 7,789 11/1850 2 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures Shoenberger 108/92 OO OO vi, 4A FUJ 11M1 |3 4.32

F162 FIG?) s 5-: SE5

INVENTOR IRA G. CRUCKSHANK A ORNEY 1 EXPANSIBLE SHELF ADDITION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to horizontally supported planar surfaces of the horizontally adjustable type.

2. Description of the Prior Art The shelf storage space provided in the average home, office', or apartment is rarely adequate for the occupants needs. Additional shelves may be installed by a variety of means, usually requiring carpenter's tools for the cutting and mounting of the shelves and braces, or the mounting of preformed brackets to a wall by screws, nails, or bolts. Such installation requires not only the proper tools but a certain amount of time and skill to produce an acceptable result. Also, in our current society, a move by a family requires that the shelf be left in the house or apartment and that the above process be repeated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION rality of longitudinally oriented, equally close spaced perforations, a pair of end support brackets adapted to be attached to the shelf members, and a central support formed with tangs adapted to engage registered perforations of the shelf members for locking them together and also to act as a load bearing strut.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially cutaway, of the shelf structure of the'present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view, partially cut away, of a wireformed end supportbracket;

FIG. 3 is a side view taken on line 3'-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view, partially cut away, of the center support leg;

FIG. 5 is a side view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a modified embodiment of the shelf structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a modified center support leg for use with the shelf structure of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an end view taken on line 88 of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a portion of the center support leg of FIG. 7.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in the several views.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT leg 15. The shelf members 11 and 12 preferably arev formed of sheet metal and have flat upper surfaces 21 and 22, respectively, and downwardly extending flanges 23 and 24 on either side of the surfaces 21 and 22. The flanges 23 may be folded under by a metal forming process to form channels 25 in which the flanges 24 are free to slide. The inner shelf member 12 thus can telescope within the outer shelf member 11 for shipment or for adjustment of varying shelf length.

The shelf members 11 and 12 are each formed with two longitudinal rows of perforated holes 27 and 28 in the surfaces 21 and 22, respectively. The holes 27 and ,28 are equally close spaced to allow for fine adjustment and are adapted to overlap and register for a plurality of extensions of the members 11 and 12.

The end support brackets 13 and 14 are wire-formed, unitary members, generally U-shaped, and are identical in configuration. The bracket 13 has two upright portions 31 and 32, a horizontal base 33, and free ends 34 and 35. The base portion 33 is folded under at 36 to 5 form a foot of some convenient horizontal depth or extent. This depth 36 is important to prevent the bracket 13 from dropping through a crack that may exist at the end of a supporting shelf. The free end 34 has an off-set double bend forming sections 34A and 348. Similarly, the free end 35 has sections 35A and 35B. In assembling the bracket 13 to the shelf section 1 1, the sections 34A and 35A are inserted through a pair of transversely aligned perforations 27 and the bracket 13 folded inward into the position shown in FIG. 1. In this position, the shelf member 11 rests on the sections 348 and 35B, respectively.

The bracket 14 is assembled in a similar fashion to an opposite end of the shelf member 12. With the brackets 13 and 14 so mounted, the shelf members 11 and 12 can be extended outward longitudinally without the brackets folding inwardly and becoming detached from the shelf members.

The center support leg 15 is also a unitary wireformed member, generally U-shaped. The leg 15 has a pair of upright portions 41 and 42, a horizontal base portion 43, and upper free ends 44 and 45. The free ends each have double bends forming upright tangs 44A and 45A, and horizontal, oppositely extending sections 44B and 45B, respectively. The horizontal length of the sections 448 and 45B is roughly some integral multiple'of the longitudinal spacing between the perforations 27 and 28.

The center support leg 15 is assembled to the shelf members 11 and 12 after they have been extended longitudinally to a desired length so as to fit within a closet, somewhat less than the total length of the two members. The longitudinal extension of the members 11 and 12 may be adjusted slightly so that the perforations 27 and 28 overlap and are in registry. With the horizontal portion 43 transverse to the length of the members 11 and 12, the tangs 44A and 45A are inserted up through the registered perforations and the assembly of the shelf structure 10 is thus complete. The center leg 15 thereafter serves to lock together the members 11 and 12 to prevent longitudinal separation and also serves as a load bearing support when the complete structure 10 is assembled on top of an existing shelf.

A modified embodiment of the shelf structure 10 is shown in FIGS. 6, 7, 8, and 9 that is particularly adapted to support relatively heavy loads. The structure 110 comprises: an outer shelf member 111, an inner shelf member 112, end support brackets (not shown), and a center support leg 115. The center leg 115 comprises a unitary wire-formed structure in the form of a complete rectangle 116 welded or brazed together at 117. The leg 115 has upright sections 141 and 142, horizontal sections 143 and 144, and carries support brackets 150 and 151 at the two upper corners. The brackets 150 and 151 are brazed or welded to the rectangular frame 116.

The shelf members 111 and 112 have downwardly extending edge flanges 123 and 124, as previously described, and perforations 131 and 132 in the surfaces 121 and 122 are in the form of elongated slots.

The bracket 151 has a downwardly extending surface 152 double folded into a channel forming portion 153. The bracket 151 also comprises a horizontally and vertically extending tang 154- that is rigidly attached to the surface 152. The bracket 150 is similarly constructed, except that the horizontal tang extends in the opposite direction. The tang 154 has an upright portion 154A adapted to extend through registered perforations 131 and 132, and a horizontal portion 1548 which engages the upper surface 121 of the shelf member 111 and locks in place to keep the support 115 from falling down. The channel portion 153 is a rigid structure and engages the flange 123 of the shelf member 111. The brackets 150 and 151 thus engaging the flanges 123 prevent the outward bowing of these flanges due to heavy loads on the shelf structure 110.

In summary, there has been shown and described a new and useful, easily assembled, shelf structure adapted to be mounted on top of an existing shelf without the use of tools or fasteners of any sort. The shelf structure may be installed in an existing closet by following a few elementary instructions; these are:

1. Lay the shelf structure on top of an existing shelf;

2. Expand the shelf members to about one foot less than the closet width;

3. Pick up one end and insert an end bracket through the perforations, as shown;

4. Move the shelf structure and bracket to the wall;

5. Lift the opposite end and insert the other bracket;

6. With both end brackets inserted, expand the shelf structure to the full width of the closet;

7. Adjust the overlapping position of the two shelf members slightly until the perforations are in registry;

8. Insert the tangs of the center support leg through a pair of registered perforations; and

9. Expand the shelf members slightly to lock the tangs in position.

The shelf structure is then ready for storage use. The structure is easily disassembled and removed by following the reverse steps of the procedure outlined above.

It is to be understood that many modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that the invention is not to be limited to the embodiment shown and described except insofar as the claims may be so limited.

I claim:

1. A horizontally adjustable shelf structure compris- 2 pair of inner and outer telescoping planar members, each formed with a plurality of equally close spaced perforations adapted to be aligned in registry;

a pair of end support brackets adapted to be attached to said planar members by insertion into said perforations;

a central unitary support bracket of wire-formed structure in the form of a rigid rectangle having two tangs defining vertical sections which are adapted to extend through registered perforations in said planar members, and oppositely extending horizontal sections of lengths approximately equal to some integral multiple of the spacing between said perforations for supporting said planar members; and

said tangs of said bracket also being formed with additional horizontally extending sections adapted to engage the upper surface of said planar members for locking said support bracket to said planar members.

2. A horizontally adjustable shelf structure comprismg: I

a pair of inner and outer telescoping planar members, each formed with a plurality of equally close spaced perforations adapted to be aligned in regisy;

said planar members being formed of sheet metal defining a flat upper shelf surface and downwardly extending side flanges;

a pair of end support brackets adapted to be attached to said planar members by insertion into said perforations;

a central unitary support bracket formed with two tangs defining vertical sections which are adapted to extend through registered perforations in said planar members, and horizontal sections for supporting said planar members;

said tangs of said bracket also being formed with additional horizontally extending sections adapted to engage the upper surface of said planar members for locking said support bracket to said planar members; and

a pair of channel brackets rigidly attached to said central support bracket and adapted to engage said side flanges of said outer planar member so as to prevent outward bowing of said flanges under heavy load on said shelf structure. 

1. A horizontally adjustable shelf structure comprising: a pair of inner and outer telescoping planar members, each formed with a plurality of equally close spaced perforations adapted to be aligned in registry; a pair of end support brackets adapted to be attached to said planar members by insertion into said perforations; a central unitary support bracket of wire-formed structure in the form of a rigid rectangle having two tangs defining vertical sections which are adapted to extend through registered perforations in said planar members, and oppositely extending horizontal sections of lengths approximately equal to some integral multiple of the spacing between said perforations for supporting said planar members; and said tangs of said bracket also being formed with additional horizontally extending sections adapted to engage the upper surface of said planar members for locking said support bracket to said planar members.
 2. A horizontally adjustable shelf structure comprising: a pair of inner and outer telescoping planar members, each formed with a plurality of equally close spaced perforations adapted to be aligned in registry; said planar members being formed of sheet metal defining a flat upper shelf surface and downwardly extending side Flanges; a pair of end support brackets adapted to be attached to said planar members by insertion into said perforations; a central unitary support bracket formed with two tangs defining vertical sections which are adapted to extend through registered perforations in said planar members, and horizontal sections for supporting said planar members; said tangs of said bracket also being formed with additional horizontally extending sections adapted to engage the upper surface of said planar members for locking said support bracket to said planar members; and a pair of channel brackets rigidly attached to said central support bracket and adapted to engage said side flanges of said outer planar member so as to prevent outward bowing of said flanges under heavy load on said shelf structure. 